Fishing at Nansen Lake, Gogebic County, Michigan

• Overview

  Nansen Lake sits in Gogebic County, out in Michigan. The surface lies 1,647 feet up. The water measures roughly 9 acres, so nothing here is far from anything else. It is high ground by Michigan standards. The closest town, Wakefield, is 24 miles away. For a city, Green Bay is 141 miles off. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Nansen Lake

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. County-wide records name bluegill, yellow perch, walleye and largemouth bass. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. Treat Nansen Lake as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July near 65°F and January near 9°F on the long-run figures. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Winter locks it down, and late April brings it back. Break-up near late April, freeze-up near late November: that is the shape of an average year. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. That is the shape of the year on Nansen Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Should this one be busy, Cranberry Lake is 0.7 miles off. The position on Nansen Lake is worth confirming on the day.